"Irrigated coconut farms can produce double," Piñol said at the opening of the 32nd National Coconut Week (NCW) celebration in Metro Manila on Tuesday. He also plans to introduce the concept of "fertigation”, a process combining fertilization and irrigation by injecting soil fertilizers into irrigation systems.
Citing latest available data, the PCA said the country produced in 2016 alone nearly 14 billion coconuts, an output which yielded 2.64 million tons of copra and 1.66 million tons of coconut oil.
Some 3.57 million hectares nationwide were planted with coconuts that year, the PCA data also showed. But the country's coconut areas are not irrigated, PCA Administrator Romulo de la Rosa said, and simply rely on rain.
According to pna.gov.ph, De la Rosa also sees the need for irrigation to help further boost the country's coconut production.
